Dino Horizons: Earliest Life Set (Prehistoric Panorama, by COG)
Prehistoric Panorama is a recent collection that tries to emulate the format of the Kaiyodo sets (no candy or soft drinks included). They all are miniatures (measuring around 10 cm). Each of the PP sets contains six toys and is more or less thematic. The dinosaurs they made are no match for Kaiyodo’s highly stylized products, but the rest of the critters (be it fish or arthropod) are passable. For me, the best set is the erroneously called ‘Earliest Life’ set (apparently they have no knowledge of the Precambrian life forms; what’s more, it’s stated in the booklet that the Palaeozoic was the first geological era… [sigh] go figure…). Included are 6 creatures that lived during the Cambrian era, invertebrate life forms whose fossils have only been found in the Burgess Shale in Canada and in some parts of Asia, so this is a quite cool set, maybe not as bold as Kaiyodo (the position is rather static, the paint jobs are simple), maybe not entirely accurate (they seem to be based on typical book illustrations from ten years ago, but you don’t find toys solely based on this kind of fauna everyday). Each figure is contained inside a little case (a tag is attached to it) a booklet (unfortunately the information is not very useful) the necessary instructions to put the puzzle together and a key chain of sorts. The puzzles are not too complex (usually four pieces) The plastic is some kind of smooth vinyl. The set includes:
HALLUCIGENIA: This and the Kaiyodo version are the only Hallucigenia replicas out there. Although Kaiyodo’s version is probably more beautiful due to the artistic liberties, I love the efficient simplicity of the traditional.looking PP rendering. It has no eyes, no orifices, the undefinable blob represents the head, while the tail is a little bit more worm-like. The number of spines and tentacle-like tubes is correct (14 pairs in all), although the ‘feet’ end in two claws, whereas it’s been established that there was one claw only. The tiny appendages where the… tail?… begins are present, too. The colouring is rather dull (blue sprayed on white) but then again, who knows? Maybe this is accurate after all. I’m glad they didn’t envisioned it as an onychophoran (velvet worm-like) which is currently the most accepted theory for some reason.
AYSHEAIA: I really liked this fella, it’s chubby and resembles strikingly an evil mutant catterpillar. The Aysheaia is supposedly related to the modern onychophora (such as the modern Peripatus, a worm-like creature that has arthropod qualities). It must have fed on primitive sponges. The colour pattern is quite simple, but the texture is interesting (kind of rough). I find two major flaws in it. One, there’s a pair of legs missing and two, I don’t know where they got the idea from, but the legs themselves should have the same kind of spines found on the two big posterior appendages.
PIKAIA: Interesting animal, it is supposed to be one of the first vertebrates ever. PP did a good job reconstructing the body (very much like an eel) but they put big eyes on it, which is rather doubtful, since it’s not an advanced chordate, if at all (it was thought at first that it was a polychaete worm). It must have been easy prey for the big Cambrian hunters like the Anomalocaris. On top of its head there are two protuberances (nobody know why, maybe they were antennae) Underneath the first segment one can see several minuscule appendages (their function remains unknown as well, they probably were vestigial).
OTTOIA: This is a Cambrian priapulid worm, so it’s the first replica of its kind. It was supposed to feed onlarge things (scientists think that they’ve found traces of other Ottoia worms inside the digestive tract of one of the Burgess Shale specimens, so that would make it a cannibal) but it’s possible that they just filtered things through the feeding tube. This worm would bury its body in the sand and from there catch its prey. The PP Ottoia is a nice life-like reproduction, they even positioned it as if it were buried. The feeding tube and the… head?… have some tiny markings, I guess those are the spines that are characteristic of this kind of worms; the rest of the body has a ringed pattern. The colouring ranges from dark red to clear orange.
OPABINIA: I suppose this monster and the Hallucigenia are the most impressive toys of the set; in this case, the colour is more uniform (a rusty orange tone). The detail is superior, too (particularly on the lobes that conform the body) There are very few scientific certainties about this creature, but they are mostly there (five mushroom-like eyes, proboscis with a serrated tip, the 3 lobular portions with which the tail ends) There are however several questionable features. The body had 15 body segments, whereas the PP replica has only 10. The proboscis did not function as a mouth, the latter was located at the lower part of the head, but unfortunately there is none on this toy. The designers added an extra set of paired eyes (not of the mushroom type, mind you, but little ones embedded in sockets located on the top of the head). Recent dossil findings suggest that the Opabinia may have had jointed legs (which would make it an arthropod after all) and we don’t see legs on this toy. Some experts believe that the serrated opening located at the tip of the proboscis should be transversally positioned (opposed to the medial representation, a common assumption found on the PP toy, too).
TRILOBITES: Too modest to be identified, this is an obvious case of Olenoides Serratus, another interesting creature of the Burgess Shale playground. Trilobites proliferated for a very long time, and their physiology is very complex, so it’s no wonder that they couldn’t pull it off. The top view of the body seems to be perfectly accurate, the broad lobes are clearly defined, the antennae are well proportioned, but the ventral side is completely wrong, the legs were supposed to spring from the center of the body: On the PP there’s an enigmatic plate covering the legs and a mouth that should not be there at all (it should be on the Opabinia instead) The colours are not exactly exotic, but I have no problems at all with the conservativeness of the black & grey pattern.
All in all, if you like unconventional prehistoric creatures, or if you would like to give your children an educational set of toys, this is perfect for you.
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